Jonathan Schanzer | Nov 22, 2025
By Michael Vadon – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikipedia
EZZAT al-Reshq, a spokesman for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, denied reports Saturday that his group was walking away from the Gaza cease-fire brokered by President Trump.
Al-Reshq’s statement came amidst a flurry of news out of Gaza.
It began when a Hamas fighter crossed the “yellow line” that marks the frontier between Hamas-controlled territory and the parts of Gaza that Israel controls. The Hamasnik was neutralized. Consistent with past Hamas violations of cease-fires, the Israelis then struck five senior Hamas officials across the Gaza Strip.
Whether or not Hamas officially exits the 20-point Trump plan, enshrined as UN Security Council Resolution 2803 last week, the deal is holding on by a thread.
The terrorist group was required to hand over every remaining hostage within 72 hours. More than six weeks later, three slain hostages remain in Hamas captivity.
Unfulfilled terms
Furthermore, Hamas was supposed to disarm. That has not occurred. And the group has no intention of doing so anytime soon.
Until the group lays down its weapons, the Trump plan is in limbo. It’s hard to imagine Arab or Muslim states volunteering their forces or financial resources to stand up to the transitional authority that Trump envisions, so long as Hamas remains a threat.
In the end, two nominal American allies hold the key to the success or failure for the Trump plan: Qatar and Turkey. Both countries are key patrons of Hamas.
Never mind that American allies should not sponsor terrorists. Somehow, Republicans and Democrats have ignored this problem for decades. That needs to change. But for now, Trump needs to hold these two duplicitous allies to their word.
Back in October, they promised the president they would deliver Hamas and end the war. In exchange, the president promised Qatar a security agreement with America.
And he told the Turks he could bail them out of legal trouble in America or sell them weapons — maybe both. The president must threaten to blow it all up, should these two frenemies fail to dismantle their terror client Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Trump has big ideas for the Middle East. Ending the Gaza war is just part of the picture.
The president wants to close out the seven fronts that erupted across the Middle East after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He wants to end the Iranian regime’s campaign of terror across the Middle East.
He wants to broker new normalization agreements between Israel and several Muslim states, including Saudi Arabia.
None of this can happen if the Gaza war is still raging.
Should Hamas hold to the Trump plan, this would be welcome news. But agreeing in word but not deed is insufficient. Hamas must hand over the last three hostages and then surrender.
It’s time for phase two of the Trump plan. The future of the Middle East hangs in the balance.
Jonathan Schanzer is executive director of The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, DC.
Message received from Roamnrab:
good analysis, but to emphasize this point further, no more fake hudna Arab ceasefires shoved down Israel’s throat by its alleged best friend for the sake of business deals…. Here’s what’s needed with no exceptions:
https://www.newenglishreview.org/the-answer-to-itbach-al-yahud-is-not-ceasefire-but-victory/